Flyers calm with free agents

Forced to watch TV coverage of free agency all day because the Flyers are already over the salary cap, general manager Ron Hextall can't help but be a little glad.

He saw a few of the big-deal signings – in the first hour of free agency teams dolled out over $191 million – and couldn't help but be surprised.

"There were a few. I'll leave it right at that, though," Hextall said with a chuckle.

"There's two days of the year where a lot of people get crazy: July 1 and the trade deadline. You've got to keep things intact that day if you can."

Instead of the Flyers' usual big splash, the Flyers were forced to stay sane. All they did was re-sign Ray Emery, sign goalie Rob Zepp and forward Blair Jones to two-way contracts. "I would have liked to bring a little bit of insanity here," Hextall said, "but not too much."

Instead, the Flyers barely spent any coin. The team was already a little more than $236,000 over the salary cap and paid Emery a reported $1 million for a one-year deal and Zepp, who will play with the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms, a two-way contract worth a reported $600,000 if he's in the NHL.

"You always want to earn as much as you can," said Emery, who made $1.6 million last season. "I'm happy to be staying in the same spot. It was a real comfortable situation for me. I'm happy to be staying somewhere where I'm comfortable."

"Obviously bringing Ray back, I think bringing Ray back was a move that we considered all along," Hextall added. "He was an option for us, and I think his relationship with [starting goalie] Steve Mason certainly played into it. I think Ray's a good fit for us on a one-year deal."

Emery, who turns 32 in September, had a 2.96 goals-against average and .903 save percentage in 28 games last season. Heading into free agency, it looked as if re-signing Emery was a long shot. "I wasn't sure, but I'm definitely happy it worked out the way it did," Emery said. "That's just the business of the game sometimes."

Emery and Mason have a good working chemistry and with the Flyers already over the salary cap, a reunion makes a lot of sense. In the offseason, teams are allowed to go 10 percent over next season's salary cap of $69 million. The Flyers are now roughly $1.23 million over.

"It's not going to be easy," Hextall said about cutting cap space. "I think a lot of people filled up today and that's always what happens July 1. It's not going to be easy. We'll continue to chip away and work away, and we'll find a way."

They will have to clear some space before October and a move could happen as early as Wednesday. That's when the Flyers pay frustrated center Vinny Lecavalier a $2 million bonus. After signing that check, it will be easier for the Flyers to ship Lecavalier to a team that will give him the ice time he's used to. With all the moves made around the league, the landscape for a potential trade might have changed.

"I'm sure it changed a little bit because all of a sudden players are in place, so I'm sure that'll change things a little bit, and it also might flush things out," Hextall said. "Maybe a team or two now that thinks they didn't have a need, will, but again, we've got nothing imminent on Vinny."

Hextall says it wouldn't be out of the question for Lecavalier to be on the roster come training camp. In his mind, it wouldn't be awkward.

"Not at all," Hextall said. "Vinny's a pro, and we're pros, and I think you guys all know we've had discussions, but he's been nothing but a pro."